1) I personally think installing plugins can be more confusing than installing apps. Inexperienced users see, "please install our plugin," and the lump sum of

1) I personally think installing plugins can be more confusing than installing apps. Inexperienced users see, "please install our plugin," and the lump sum of everything they don't know about computers falls on their head like a cartoon piano and they hit the back button. "What's a plugin? Where do I put it? How will I know it worked?" Before flash video became huge the number one question I got from non-tech friends was, "why doesn't this video work in my browser?" I believe that a plugin that isn't as ubiquitous as flash is almost useless. 2) I've heard of papervision. But see #1. I also went to their site and I couldn't get past the landing page in safari. I'll try it in FFX later but I just would have lost every mac user who tried to install someone else's plugin. 3) If flash connects to your digi camera then it can probably connect to an iPod or any other USB device. If that's the case you've got me, I didn't know that. 4) I didn't mean voip I meant phone as a device to sync contacts. But if, like you said, flash talks to USB then you've got me here. 5) I used a bad example. What if I want to edit a song in a web-based mp3 editor and bring it back to anywhere.fm. Unless each web app has access to the other you can't do that w/o a download and an upload. The file system is neutral territory on the desktop. It's the place every app understands. There is no web file system that every web app can access yet. (I actually think that would make a mean startup though.) Even if you're using a combo of flash, js and proxies, you still have to have an interface to the other web-app. Is there a common web-app to web-app interface that the industry has decided on? 7) You're right it is hard. And I really do commend the people who have taken it so far. But most of your answers remind me of the people I see camping who have solar showers, fold out chairs and a battery powered TV. I look at them and say, "why not just go home?" There are a million hacks that get the job done but each one waters down functionality and increases complexity. Almost every answer you've given involves non-browser SW on the desktop. So we're both straddling the desktop and web-based world. We just don't agree where the balance point lies. I think that in most cases existing desktop apps should be connected to web-services that facilitate backups, sharing and collaberation. You tip further toward the web end. I'm sure there is a time and place for both.